CU Athletics

CU Buffs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy vows improvement

Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen gets off a pass just ahead of rushing lineman Paipai Falemalu in the second quarter of Saturday's 34-17 loss to Hawaii. Hansen was sacked seven times.
(Marco Garcia, The Associated Press
)

HONOLULU — More than 30 minutes after a 34-17 loss to Hawaii, Colorado offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy emerged from the team locker room Saturday night still shaking his head.

Bieniemy's career debut as a play-caller became a game he'd like to forget — after he uses the film as a teaching tool, that is. Colorado arrived at Aloha Stadium feeling confident. The Buffaloes departed after netting just 240 yards of offense.

Colorado trailed 17-0 at halftime. Six of CU's seven penalties were committed before the break. Balls were bobbled during two plays in the first quarter. There was no chance to seize momentum or sustain a drive.

Against a good team, falling behind by more than two touchdowns usually becomes too much to overcome. That proved to be the case here. In separate preseason polls, Hawaii was picked by the Western Athletic Conference coaches and media as the favorite to win the league title. The Warriors were aiming for a payback after losing 31-13 in Boulder last season.

"We've got to be better from the start, and that goes all the way around," Bieniemy said. "We've got to do better coaching. We've got to get better playing. We've got to get better at executing. On top of that, we're a much more disciplined football team than what we showed tonight.

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"What does that mean? It means we have to go back to the drawing board to make sure that we're giving ourselves a chance to have a chance. When we're efficiently and effectively doing our jobs, we're pretty good. But when we're not, the Colorado Buffaloes are beating the Colorado Buffaloes."

It didn't help that Colorado lost its starting left tackle, sophomore David Bakhtiari, in the first half to a knee injury. (The severity of the injury was not announced.) But the Buffs did show some life in the second half.

Two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Tyler Hansen to sophomore wide receiver Paul Richardson and a 34-yard field goal by true freshman Will Oliver pulled the Buffs to within 24-17 just seconds into the fourth quarter.

"We were feeling good at that point," Hansen said. "We got into some rhythm. We were doing some things."

The Colorado defense then did its part, forcing a three-and-out punt. CU took over on its 21-yard line and promptly moved backward 17 yards — after two sacks and a delay-of-game penalty. Hawaii took advantage of good field position on the possession exchange and moved 45 yards on eight plays for the game-clinching score.

"In the first game, it took a little while for us to find our niche," CU quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer said. "But once we started executing (in the second half), it's amazing what happens. When we got (the deficit) to seven points, I really felt good. We were in a flow.

"We have to build on this. The old cliche is that you improve the most between your first and second games, and that's even more so when you're installing a new system. We have a better idea of what we are and what we need to do."

Scherer said he was impressed with Bieniemy's first go-round in calling the offensive plays. Early during August camp, Scherer said of the former Colorado All-American and NFL running backs coach: "Eric really has a solid foundation of knowledge. In my experience, most running back coaches tend to have a very narrow focus of the game. But Eric has a very broad perspective. He has a good understanding of a lot of things."

Communication-wise, Bieniemy said everything went smoothly in his play-calling debut. But the team must dramatically improve on its execution Saturday in Colorado's 1:30 p.m. home opener against California (1-0) at Folsom Field.

Strangely, this year's game against Cal will not count in the Pac-12 standings. It was originally scheduled as a nonconference game, and when the Pac-12 was formed, both teams were unsuccessful in finding suitable replacements for this date. But that doesn't lessen the importance for Colorado. It's an opportunity to get back on track.

"You'd like for it to have ended a whole lot better," Bieniemy said Saturday night. "We have to hold everybody accountable for what happened, and that starts with me. I promise you, we will get better. We will get better."

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